The European Commission has launched an investigation into Meta regarding harmful and addictive design elements present on Instagram and Facebook, potentially resulting in multi-billion euro penalties for the American company.

Released on Friday, July 10, the commission's initial conclusions indicate that mechanisms such as attention-grabbing tactics and infinite scrolling violate the Digital Services Act of 2022, designed to protect EU residents from online dangers, fraud, and prohibited material.

Investigators determined that Mark Zuckerberg's corporation failed to adequately evaluate addiction risks linked to these design decisions and did not implement sufficient protective steps.

Commission representative Thomas Regnier stated to the media that there are no functional screen-time tracking options, no impactful awareness initiatives, and no reliable parental controls.

Customized suggestions and automatic playback encourage continuous scrolling, which can cause habitual usage, lack of sleep, and increased concerns for mental well-being.

Any features offered by the platform, including usage limit controls, demand significant technical knowledge from parents and have proven largely unsuccessful.

If Meta cannot challenge these conclusions and the violations are confirmed, the company risks penalties up to six percent of its worldwide yearly revenue.

Based on the firm's 2025 earnings of 176 billion euros, this could amount to 11 billion euros.

The EU has previously demonstrated resolve against Meta, imposing 200 million euros in fines in April 2025 for Digital Markets Act breaches and 797 million euros in 2024 for issues with Facebook Marketplace advertisements.

With 270 million users across the EU, Meta serves more than half the region's population.